Monstrous

2021 - Rogue Pop Up Gallery, Redfern

Monstrous is a series of dark, shadowy forms that emerge from the kelp forests of Sydney Harbour. I collected kelp from the harbour and brought it into the darkroom, where created compositions until a character with form began to emerge. Once a creature revealed itself, I placed gelatin silver photographic paper beneath it and made an exposure, creating a photogram.

The resulting creatures are playful, strange and slightly unsettling — somewhere between natural specimens and imagined monsters. Hand-toned gelatin silver prints transform the organic forms of the kelp into mysterious beings, suggesting the creatures we might imagine beneath the surface of dark water.

The work grew from a fascination with our instinctive fears of nature: the shudder that runs through the body when something brushes against your feet while swimming in murky water. Monstrous explores that moment when the familiar becomes strange and the imagination fills in the blanks.